Apple Music Preview

We could not find iTunes on your computer.You need iTunes to use Apple Music

EDITORS’ NOTES

Chris Stapleton follows his 2015 solo breakthrough—the CMA and GRAMMY®-winning Traveller—with an album that should appeal to every generation of country listener. Recorded in Nashville at RCA Studio A, the same legendary space where bearded forebears like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson cut classics, From A Room: Volume 1 is a spare yet soulful showcase for Stapleton’s remarkable voice, whether he’s rumbling through roadhouse rock ("Second One to Know”), showing his emotional range atop a gorgeous, fingerpicked guitar figure (“Either Way”), or harmonizing with his equally talented wife, Morgane (“Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning”).

From A Room: Volume 1

EDITORS’ NOTES

Chris Stapleton follows his 2015 solo breakthrough—the CMA and GRAMMY®-winning Traveller—with an album that should appeal to every generation of country listener. Recorded in Nashville at RCA Studio A, the same legendary space where bearded forebears like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson cut classics, From A Room: Volume 1 is a spare yet soulful showcase for Stapleton’s remarkable voice, whether he’s rumbling through roadhouse rock ("Second One to Know”), showing his emotional range atop a gorgeous, fingerpicked guitar figure (“Either Way”), or harmonizing with his equally talented wife, Morgane (“Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning”).

TITLE

TIME

Broken Halos

3:00

Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning

4:15

Second One to Know

2:56

Up to No Good Livin'

4:05

Either Way

4:08

I Was Wrong

3:11

Without Your Love

3:51

Them Stems

3:00

Death Row

4:03

9 Songs, 32 Minutes

℗ 2017 Mercury Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.

About Chris Stapleton

Chris Stapleton appeared to be one of those overnight storybook sensations: a troubadour who came out of nowhere to become a major star in the autumn of 2015 on the strength of his debut album, Traveller. Like most overnight sensations, Stapleton had a long, hard road behind him. He had been laboring behind in the scenes in Nashville for years, leading the progressive bluegrass group the SteelDrivers and working as a professional songwriter, scoring hits with George Strait ("Love's Gonna Make It Alright"), Kenny Chesney ("Never Wanted Nothing More"), Luke Bryan ("Drink a Beer"), and Darius Rucker ("Come Back Song"). These tunes just scratched the surface of Stapleton's résumé: Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, and Tim McGraw all recorded his songs, as did Adele, who cut "If It Hadn't Been for Love" as a bonus track for her 2011 smash 21. All these covers signaled a deep reservoir of goodwill within the industry for the songwriter, and this goodwill bubbled to the surface in the fall of 2015, when he took home three major awards at the Country Music Association Awards: Best Male Vocalist, Album of the Year, and New Artist of the Year. All these awards boosted his visibility, leading to four Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year, and his first major hit, "Nobody to Blame."

It was success that was a long time coming. A native of Kentucky -- he was born in Lexington and raised in the smaller Staffordsville -- he moved to Nashville in 2001 in hopes of making it in country music. He signed a publishing deal with Sea Gayle Music and started to work steadily, writing songs and paying bills through various jobs, and playing music all the while. In 2008, he formed the SteelDrivers, a bluegrass group that received quite a bit of acclaim over the next two years. In 2009, the group was named Emerging Artist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the following year they received three Grammy nominations, including Best Bluegrass Album, for Reckless. Despite this success, Stapleton left the group in April 2010 and formed the Jompson Brothers with guitarist Greg McKee, bassist J.T. Cure, and drummer Brad McNamee. By 2013, the Southern rock band was no more, and Stapleton signed with Mercury Nashville, releasing "What Are You Listening To?" in October of that year. The single didn't go anywhere, so its accompanying album was scrapped, and he recorded a new record with co-producer Dave Cobb. This is the album that became Traveller, his solo debut.

Traveller appeared in May 2015 to strong reviews but it didn't do much on country radio; in fact, it was overshadowed by the chart-topping "Crash and Burn," a song Stapleton wrote with Jesse Frasure that was turned into a hit by Thomas Rhett. Nevertheless, its warm reception by critics and peers meant that it racked up a number of CMA nominations and, in a surprise to most observers, it took home three awards that December: Best Male Vocalist, New Artist of the Year, and Album of the Year. Suddenly, Stapleton was a hot property, receiving four Grammy nominations a few weeks after the CMAs, and soon, all that acclaim turned into sales, with Traveller reaching number one on the U.S. country charts and receiving a gold certification from the RIAA, while "Nobody to Blame" became his first country radio hit. "Parachute" charted even higher later in 2016, and Stapleton spent the rest of that year working on his second album with producer Dave Cobb. Recorded at Nashville's RCA Studio A, From A Room was divided into two parts, with the first arriving in May 2017 and the second following later that year. From A Room: Volume 1 wound up snagging the CMA for Album of the Year prior to the November release of From A Room: Volume 2. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine